He must have been rebuffed and denigrated all his life, to be so afraid of touching another human being. - Vonda N. McIntyre

The intensity of Melissa’s loyalty troubled Snake. She had never known anyone who was so completely oblivious to self-interest. Perhaps Melissa could not yet think of herself as someone with a right to her own dreams; perhaps so many of her dreams had been taken from her that she no longer dared to have them.

She, too, felt the need for fresh air and rain and the ocean’s silent words.

If you want to. That’s the important thing. For you to do what you want to do. Not what you think anyone else wants or expects you to do.